


A Lowly Star and Her Radiant Admirer

by soul_droid



Category: Tales of Series, Tales of Xillia
Genre: Also Velvet's here because I loved Berseria just that much, F/F, In which Leia's friends try to convince her that a hot girl likes her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 11:14:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19272142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soul_droid/pseuds/soul_droid
Summary: This is a story about a girl named Leia Rolando. She works at a store called Wil-Mil Mart, and has dreams of things as grandiose as like going to E3 one day, money and free-time permitting. She also has eyes for a particularly attractive customer who keeps coming in to talk to her. This customer's name is Milla Maxwell, and Milla absolutely adores her.





	A Lowly Star and Her Radiant Admirer

Cut.

Lift.

Slap.

Lift.

Slap.

Lift.

Slap.

Lift--

“Leia, you’re lifting the same carton of milk.”

A voice takes Leia Rolando out of her haze, as she remembers she is in fact at work, stocking milk in the coolers for the customers to come take off the shelves and make that ever-present, never funny joke about how they’re going to mess up her display. It is a grocery store. That is the point. Otherwise there would be layoffs at best.

Leia looks over to the co-worker who pointed out her little stupor, Jude Mathis, busy stocking the freezer next to her milk section. With a slightly concerned expression on his face, he asks “Are you uh... gonna put it up?”

“Ah! That’s right!” Leia immediately turns around to the shelf and puts the milk down so she can take another carton out of the box of multiple variations, all balanced on a U-boat that was less secure than Leia would have liked. “Sorry, I just got, uh... kinda distracted there for a second...”

“... Is this about that blonde girl?”

“Her name is Milla! And no! I mean, yeah...!”

“You missed her one time yesterday, and all of a sudden it’s the end of the world?”

“Well, she’s... I just thought maybe this time I’d be able to... To... y-y’know...”

“Ask her out? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

“Yeah! I-I want to, but like... we have a good thing going here!”

“A good thing... as in she comes into the store sometimes and you two talk about dogs for a solid five minutes and then she goes home?”

“It’s a good thing!”

“Remember five years ago when we were 15 and you told me you had a crush on me? Where’s that confidence now?”

“You’re different! I’ve known you for like a bajillion years! I was sure that even if you said no, we’d find a way to keep our friendship in-tact!”

“Yeah, but Leia she--...” Taking a moment to sigh at his apparent lot in life to be the guy who stops all the nonsense, Jude continues “She likes you.”

“... You don’t know that.”

“Oh really? Exhibit A: A month ago.”

 

_We interrupt your regularly scheduled linear flow of time to take you back to one month ago._

 

As Jude was busy stocking the soups and beans and all the other miscellany that populated the dry-food aisle of his small section, he noticed the familiar face of one Milla Maxwell coming toward him. Being that he knew her at least a little better than the other customers, he figured it would be rude to just continue to say nothing.

“Oh, hey, Milla.”

“Good day, Jude. How are you?”

“I’m pretty good. Finally got Alvin to stop sending me that picture of Nicolas Cage every day.”

“Every day?”

“Like clockwork.”

“Hm... And Alvin was your boyfri--”

“Friend, just... just a friend-- I’m not sure I’d be into someone like... him.”

“Is he that bad?”

“He’s a bit of a fixer-upper. Anyway, if you’re looking for Leia, she’s off today and tomorrow. Actually, I’m here on overtime, really.”

“Oh. W-well, I was mostly just here for something to eat, so...”

“Do you... want me to tell you her schedule?”

“Are you sure you could tell a stranger something like that?”

“True, you are verging on being a stalker at this point.”

“What!? I-I promise you I am nothing of the sort!”

“You don’t know where she lives, do you?”

“I mean, yes, I do, but that’s just because she had me drive her home once, I swear! I just come here a lot because this is the only place I know to talk to her.”

“And that’s the art of misdirection. Got you so focused on denying the stalker claim you forgot to deny you came here to talk to Leia.”

“What-- I--...” After Milla realizes her slip up, she gives in, and smiles a bit at her debate opponent’s tactics “Well played. So... is she normally off on these days?”

 

_We interrupt your regularly scheduled linear flow of time to take you one month into the future._

 

“And to be honest, I was only half-kidding about that stalker claim.”

“So, she wants to talk to me! That doesn’t mean she’s like... into me!”

“Exhibit B:” Said another co-worker, one Velvet Crowe, coming from inside the aisles. Normally, she wouldn’t get involved in this kind of stuff, but it’s been going on for so. Damn. Long now. She’s just really wanting it to end at some point soon, because it’s getting painful to watch. “She’s either loaded, or she’s flexing every time she comes to the grocery store.”

“Huh? Is this because she has the same last name as King Maxwell? It’s a common last name, guys!”

“Okay, but tell me you don’t notice her clothes are super expensive.”

“I mean, yeah, she looks nice and all, but like what’s your point?”

“Well, if she’s rich, there’s no reason for her to come to a store like this, because it’s a little expensive here, so she’d definitely not bat an eye at the prices, but come on, you and I both know there are nicer places for her to shop. She probably dropped in for something quick, saw your ass, and decided she should come back to gather up the nerve to ask you on a date.”

“... You mean “saw _me_ ”, or literally “saw my ass?”

“... Take your pick, you wear those tight shorts all the time. Anyway, if she’s not rich, then she’s just wearing her nicest clothes to a random grocery store.”

Jude notes “It certainly would make sense if she were trying to catch someone’s attention.”

“One time, after you two were done talking for a whopping -- I am not kidding in the least -- 30 minutes in which you somehow did not get fired, you went to the back because you had to get more stuff. I went up to her because she was looking at the stuff in her basket weird, and I just said,”

 

“Hey, do you want me to put that stuff back for you?”

“Wh-what?”

“Listen. I know you don’t want anything to do with... a can of beans, a singular carrot, a pack of rubber bands, and some cinnamon. I mean, what are you gonna do with that combination?”

“I, um... Yes, that would be nice.”

 

“And by the way, she actually had me put it back like she’s used to having maids do that kind of thing for her.”

“... S-so, she just got that stuff so she wouldn’t look like she just came here to talk to me?”

"She's trying to not look desperate."

Getting his hopes up that his friend might get over her own lack of self-confidence and realize it was possible for someone to be attracted to her, Jude chimes in “She’s done that multiple times, Leia. More often than not, she’ll just buy like a protein bar or even just nothing.”

Velvet continues “She’s not here for the food, Leia, she’s here for the snacc.”

“Now that we’ve got that in order, I have to go to the back, because half this U-boat’s already been worked, and I think Reid left the new stock on the pallet. Again.”

“I swear he never touches the freezer stock, and he doesn’t consolidate-- I have no idea how he still has a job.” Looking off to her right, Velvet realizes what’s coming up next, and says “Oh wait, I forgot that Martinelli’s garbage. I gotta go back and get it -- the section’s yours for now, Leia.” And the two of them walked off. As Leia focused back on her work, she eventually heard someone speak to her

“I wonder where those two are going?”

“Oh, they’re just getting--” Wait. Wait, Leia recognized that smooth, prim voice. She turned around so fast she almost knocked over her U-boat, as she noticed “Milla!”

“Hello, Leia.”

“H-how are you? Um... I heard you were here during my lunch yesterday.”

Having hoped Jude might keep that a secret, Milla sees she was not quite so lucky. No matter, she came prepped with an excuse for why she’d be at the store two days in a row. “Ah, that I was. Though I realized that I forgot a few things, so I of course had to come back. It would seem I should definitely start shopping with a list.”

“Oh yeah, that’s a fuckin’ mood--” ‘ _WHAT!? NO! NOT NOW! DON’T TALK LIKE THAT IN FRONT OF MILLA!_ ’ “Uh, I mean, um... yeah, no that was it, actually. B-but you know, now that you’re here, there’s a funny thing I figured you’d get a kick out of hearing. See, Jude and Velvet have come to the conclusion that you’re like rich or something cuz you always dress nice. I thought that was kinda weird, y’know?”

... Milla Maxwell was not about to flaunt her affluence just because she thought it might net her a girlfriend. Even if the idea of Leia being a gold digger, while not pleasant, was definitely better than constantly getting nowhere with her. “Really? I never thought my manner of dress to be quite so extravagant.” ‘ _Mostly because my maids pick out my outfits for me, and I don’t think about them much..._ ’ “That is a rather entertaining conclusion to come to.”

Leia didn’t know if it was the way she talked, the sheer amount of height Milla had on her, or the allure that a woman five years her senior had, but _damn_ was there an air about Milla that just made her weak. And then it all came back. Everything Jude and Velvet said about... how said older woman supposedly felt about her. Oh great. Now how was she supposed to focus? And what if Milla _was_ as rich as they assumed?

Looking down at her, Milla noticed Leia suddenly staring off into the distance, her mouth constantly moving like she was trying and failing to form words, and her fingers tapping repeatedly on a milk carton in her hands “Leia? Is there something wrong?”

Noticing her behaviors, Leia righted herself a bit too quickly to not be concerning, and said “Oh--wah-bbgvvzzz...” ... Well, that wasn’t... that wasn’t words.

“I... see. Well, truth be told, I had another reason I came here today. I have had so much fun talking to you over these past few months, but it seems that shall be coming to an end.”

“What!?”

“At least for a while. My family will be taking a trip overseas, and I fear I will not be back for a month.”

A... a month? Oh no, this isn’t good. What if she meets some cute, much more affirmative girl while she’s out of the country? ‘ _Wait, is she open to polyamory? Should I ask? Bad idea; that conversation can wait until later-- UNTIL I’M ACTUALLY DATING HER! SAY SOMETHING, DAMMIT!!_ ’ “S-sounds cool. So, um... Like... When are you gonna be going?”

“We leave in a week.”

“Oh!” ‘ _THERE’S TIME! MOVE FAST, LEIA!!_ ’ “Okay, so um... you wanna like... do something? With me?”

“I’d certainly be open to it. What did you have in mind?”

‘ _AH FUCK! ALL I DO IS NERD SHIT! Calm down! Okay, sparring’s the kind of first date idea that only my mother could love, so what are the odds that a tall, older bombshell likes to play video games? I admit, it sounds like a nerd’s wet dream, but-- her expression’s changing-- why is her expression changing? Mouth sounds. What’s going on?_ ’

Smiling, Milla says “Video games, you say?”

‘ _OH GOD THAT WAS OUTSIDE VOICE!!_ ’

“You know, most people assume for some reason that I don’t play them, but I do! What kinds were you thinking of?”

‘ _... This is a growing opportunity. Don’t assume that attractive people don’t play video games. Wait, what does that mean I’m saying about myself?_ ’ “I, um... I actually just own a bunch of single-player games...”

 

It, uh... It wasn’t supposed to happen today. But Leia couldn’t think of a good excuse, and there were so few times she could imagine she was gonna get to invite a beautiful woman into her home, so she was gonna just go ahead and go with the unexpec-- OH GOD NO!!

As Milla was busy chatting with Leia’s parents at the Rolando Inn, she realized her room was filthy! Clothes on the floor, dishes left sitting around, and an empty pizza box! She had to do something.

“Hey, guys? I’m gonna go like freshen up real quick? Y’know, take a shower after work and all that, so you all can just go ahead and keep on talking!”

Leia’s mother Sonia, good at detecting Leia’s lies and excuses, realized she was going to make a mad dash to clean her room. “Got it. So, Milla, how are you with food? I wanna get your opinion on this pot roast.”

Still a bit distracted, Milla addressed Leia first “Should I just wait in your room-- Did you say pot roast?” And just like that, her mind switched gears entirely, already capable of seeing the roast in front of her.

“Well, it’s just some leftovers, but--”

“That will be quite fine-- mankind has invented the microwave for a reason!”

‘ _Low standards. This one’s a keeper, Leia._ ’

 

Upstairs, Leia looked around and hoo boy was it depressing. Y’know... Leia had had two boyfriends before, and things ended up exactly like this both times. ‘ _Come to think of it, they both broke up with me a little bit afterward..._ ’ Leia was many things, but immature was not one of them, and there was only so far she could go before admitting that maybe she was the problem. Well, third time’s the charm! Opening the closet, her cat ran out.

...

Her cat ran out.

“MAYA, YOU’RE KILLING ME!! WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN MY CLOSET!?” She asked, panicking and seeming to believe she was going to get an answer back. Regardless, it was time to focus! SHOVE. THINGS. IN THE CLOSET!! Clothes? Closet! Dishes? Can’t be seen bringing them downstairs-- Milla’s there! Closet! Gaming PC? Closet! WAIT, NOT THAT-- NOT THAT!!

 

Downstairs at the dinner table, Milla was busying herself wolfing down a pot roast, and not noticing the smiles of Leia’s parents as she did so. Sonia spoke up and asked

“So, what do you think?” As if she didn’t already have a pretty good idea of the answer to that question.

Stopping herself a little bit after being addressed, Milla took a moment to clear her throat, and uh... dignify herself? I mean like... it’s kinda late for that-- I don’t think taking a napkin to the grease around your mouth is gonna do much after that display, but yeah, sure, whatever. “It is quite delicious, Ms. Rolando!”

“Anything you’d add to it?”

“Hm... I suppose it could do with some oregano, though that is just a personal favorite of mine.”

“Well, you be sure to let Leia know that. She’s the one that cooked it, after all.”

“... Seriously? That is amazing!”

Reaching a eureka moment, Warrick Rolando slams his fist on his other hand and says “I remember where I’ve seen you before! You’re that girl who drove Leia home that one time!”

Looking closer, Sonia says “Oh yeah, I remember that! Thanks for going to all the trouble.”

Shaking her head, Milla responds “No, no, it was nothing!”

“Now you just sound like her.”

“Hm?”

“When we asked what held her up past her bus time, she just said ‘oh, it was nothing, I just got held up’, and I’m sorry, but after dealing with that girl for twenty years straight, I’ve gotten pretty good at telling when she’s just BSing me.”

“Is that so...? Well, it was certainly not “nothing”. I remember it so clearly-- it was the first time I met her, you know.”

“Oh?” Warrick says, he and Sonia taking a seat at the table

“Indeed! I had just come into the Wil-Mil Mart because I’d been out rather late with a friend of mine, and I’d just remembered I needed to get some food for my fish, Undine. When I got in the store, it was about 9:30 PM, or somewhere thereabouts. As I was walking toward the aisles, I heard this child crying over on the bench, and there was Leia, right there with her.”

 

_Months ago..._

 

At 9:05 on a Friday night, Leia Rolando had just finished clocking out for the day and was getting ready to get her things and home. She’d have plenty of time to get some food and get to her 9:30 bus, so she wasn’t particularly in a hurry. Then, however, she heard a sound ring out through the air. She recognized it as the sound of a child crying, and immediately acted without thinking. After she found the little girl wandering around, she got on her knees so she was lower than her, looked up, and spoke to her

“Hey there...!”

The girl looked at her, and she just kept crying

“L-look, it’s gonna be okay! My name’s Leia! Oh, I have an idea!” She reached in her pocket, and thought to herself about the damage that she could be doing by conditioning this girl to accept candy from strangers. At the same time, she really needed her to calm down, because otherwise there wasn’t gonna be any progress getting made. ‘ _Just lecture her about it later, okay?_ ’ Then she said something unexpected.

“P-p-please help! M-my mommy! She needs help!”

Her eyes growing wide with concern, Leia investigates this further. “Okay, okay, I’m gonna help you and your mommy, but first, I need you to calm down, okay? It’s gonna be all right, but there are some questions I need to ask you? First off, what’s your name?”

“I-I-I’m Jenny...!”

“Okay, Jenny, what happened?”

Slowly composing herself, the girl recounts events “M-m-m-my d-d-daddy... He s-stopped living with us a while ago... I... I missed him, but mommy said he couldn’t stay... I heard a knock on the door, and I did like mommy said and I asked who it was... It was my daddy! I was so excited to see him again, so I opened the door, but that’s when mommy came in asking who was the door... B-but then... then, daddy pulled out a g-g-g-- a g-g-gun!”

‘ _Oh no..._ ’

“Mommy told me to run and get help, so I did, and I... I-I came here because there are a lot of people, so somebody might help!”

“Well, you did really great, Jenny. Do you happen to know your address?”

“Um... n-n-no...”

‘ _Oh crap. Crap, crap, crap! Okay, hold on, there’s always a way to do these things... Got it!_ ’ “Do you know how long it took you to get here?”

“I... I don’t know...”

‘ _COME ON, LEIA, DON’T GIVE UP!!_ ’ “Well, what were you doing when your daddy showed up? Were you watching TV?”

“Y-y-yeah...”

“Okay, and what was on at the time?”

“They just finished an episode of Neo Feather Rangers...”

“That’s good!” Leia whips out her phone so fast she almost drops it, but she manages to look up the airing schedule and runtime of Neo Feather Rangers. ‘ _Okay, so episodes are about 23 minutes. Factor in commercials, and if the episode just finished, that means it was about 8:30 when this all went down. Give a few minutes for her to get out, and I’d say she probably took about 30 minutes to get here. She’s got tiny legs, so she lives within a half a mile of here._ ’ Leia looks at her map app, and the areas around her current position in a half a mile radius. “Say, Jenny? Sweetie? Do you happen to remember anything about what your house looks like?”

“It’s... it’s yellow... There’s a big tree out front...”

“Is there anywhere nearby that you like to go?”

“I go grocery shopping here with mommy a lot.”

“That’s good, but... is there maybe anywhere else?”

“Um... uh... Mommy takes me to walk Philly at the dog park.”

“Great, that helps a lot!” Searching for dog parks in the area, Leia finds a match ‘ _Where’s the nearest residential area? ... Got it! Okay, streetview, and look for a big tree... Hm... There it is!_ ’ “Jenny, just hold on. I’m gonna make a call.” Dialing 911, Leia alerts the operator to her emergency. After the phone call is over, she says “Jenny? Honey? The police are gonna go to your house, and they’ll make sure to stop anything from happening, okay?”

“O-o-okay...”

“Hey. You did great.” Leia gives her a hug, and says “How about we sit over on that bench and wait for them to call back?” And so there Leia sat, with Jenny hugging her as tightly as she could. For 30 minutes, she waited, and eventually, an officer showed up to talk to them and take Jenny.

After everything was over, Leia was approached by a tall woman with long blonde hair.

“Hello there.” Said the woman named Milla Maxwell “I saw how you waited with that little girl for the police just now. I would just like to say that was amazing of you to do.”

“H-huh? Oh, that was nothing,” Leia remarks, smiling sheepishly “I just did what anybody would, y’know?”

“Is that so? Then why were so many people just walking by without sparing so much as a glance? Make sure you don’t sell yourself short, ma’am. You may find you are greater than you believe.”

“Okay, wow, I’m really not used to all this praise. B-but thank you for--” The color drains from Leia’s face as she comes to a horrible realization. Taking out her phone and desperately not wanting to look, she confronts the truth of the situation. 9:59 PM. The 9:30 was the last bus of the day. “... Oh boy...”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Oh, it’s... it’s nothing, I just have a bit of a long walk ahead of me. And an early start, actually... I, um... I missed my bus. By um... Well, by now 30 minutes... Have a good day, miss-- if you’ll excuse me.” Leia gets to walking, when suddenly Milla says

“Hold on a minute!”

“Huh?”

“I have a car. I know you just met me, but... do you trust me?”

 

As the two of them drove through the dimly-lit night, Leia decides she hasn’t said this as many times as she should, so “Seriously, I can’t thank you enough for this, miss. Um, what was your name? I’m Leia, by the way.”

“I am Milla Maxwell. And you’re perfectly welcome, Leia. Still, you stayed quite a while over your limit, didn’t you? Compassionate, selfless, humble, and even resourceful from what you told me of how you handled that little girl’s situation. Aren’t you quite the catch?”

“S-stop, I’m just trying me best to--” ‘ _Wait... did a pretty girl just call me a ‘catch’? Calm down, Leia, let’s analyze this: Is she being gay right now, or just being nice? Hopefully both, but let’s not jump the gun!_ ’ “Well, um... thank you! To be honest, I do a lot of babysitting for the kids in the neighborhood. I hear the sound of a child crying, and I just act, y’know?”

“And she’s good with children, too!”

‘ _Ah geez, this is getting harder and harder to deal with._ ’

“So, you have to be back at work tomorrow morning?”

“Nah, I’ve got the day off, but I’m helping the neighbor kids build a space ship in their back yard.”

“A space ship?”

“Yeah. Keele and Pascal are their names. They have an older sister named Poisson, but she’s out of town right now.”

“You are quite the busy bee. Any cooldown time in there?”

“I’m gonna go home, play a bunch of games, and never emerge from my room after all that’s done.”

“There it is. You have to make sure to remember yourself.” Looking outside the window, Milla hears her GPS tell her that her destination is on the right. She pulls over to the curb, and says “Well, here we are. Please, enjoy your time off.”

“Thanks. So, are you gonna come back to the store some time?” ‘ _What._ ’

“You know, I believe I will. You all have quite a wide, useful selection!”

“Great! I’ll see you... whenever, I guess. Well, not on Saturday or Sunday this week, but you get the idea. Thanks!” She says one more time, getting out of the car. As Leia opened the front door and announced that she was home, only to be greeted by her worried-sick parents, Milla noticed something wrong in the car.

“Is that...? Oh goodness, it is!” She picks up an object that should not be in her car, gets out, and runs over to the house before anybody has a chance to close the door “Wait! Wait, Leia!”

“Hm?” She asks, turning around to see Milla looking rather panicked. “What’s up?

“Your phone. It seems to have dropped out of your pocket.”

“H-huh? Oh crap-- thanks, Milla!”

Sonia butts in to ask “And who might this be?”

“Oh, this is Milla. She dropped me off after I missed my bus.”

“Goodness, well thank you, Milla, she was late, and we couldn’t tell where she was! We called her what must have been five times!”

“Y-you did?” She checks her phone and notices five missed calls “Ah crap! Sorry about that, guys! I promise it won’t happen again, but if I’m honest, I’m super tired right now, so can I just get to bed?”

She sighs “I suppose so. Go on, get.”

 

_Months later, present day_

 

Leia’s parents were understandably shocked by what they had just heard

“... That girl...” Shaking her head that Leia would be so nonchalant about something so large, Sonia also feels a single tear roll down her cheek... While her husband on the other hand was openly bawling, because, really, Warrick is a role-model to men around the world about how it’s okay to be open about displays of your feelings. “I can’t believe we managed to raise a girl as well-adjusted and upstanding as her...”

“Indeed.” Milla says, smiling at the fond memory. “Although she has a nasty habit of underselling herself. I generally try to get her past this strange displeasure she has in talking about and thinking well of herself. That’s why I try to steer most of our conversations toward her.”

“... Really now? Tell me something, Milla... how do you feel about my daughter?”

“Heheh... I suppose it would be good to stop being so shy... so bashful about it... And you two are just about the best place I could start that... I love her. From the bottom of my heart, she is, to me, amazing. I admit my fantasies of marriage are a bit premature-- we haven’t even started dating yet. I’m not even sure she is attracted to women... but I can dream.”

The sound of a door opening upstairs is heard “Well,” Sonia says “Good luck to you.”

Warrick nods “And I look forward to seeing what such a refined young woman’s folks are like.”

Her grin going wider, this time in amusement, Milla responds“Oh, my family is... quite a bit. You may not be as ready as you think.” With the sound of rapidfire footfalls, Leia pauses on the staircase, and says

“U-um, it’s-- I’m ready, Milla. So, uh... Let’s go... play some single-player games together... however that works.”

Sonia looks up at Leia with pride, and finally says “I hope to see you again soon, Milla.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

 

EPILOGUE: NARRATED BY LEIA ROLANDO

Ooookay...! Turns out Milla _is_ rich. Like... Super rich! I know this because a little while after we started... started dating... she invited my family and I to have lunch with her family, and it was _not_ what I was expecting, when A LIMO PULLED UP TO MY HOUSE!! SHE SAID IT WAS A CASUAL THING! I’M WEARING BLACK CARGO PANTS AND AN ALL TIME LOW T-SHIRT-- I AM _NOT_ DRESSED RIGHT!!! SHE’S A FUCKING PRINCESS, AND I NEVER KNEW ABOUT IT BECAUSE SHE DECLINES EACH AND EVERY TV APPEARANCE!! She likes to be humble, I guess... I got nervous as hell when the limo pulled up in the driveway in front of the stairs (WHICH ARE IN FRONT OF A FOUNTAIN, BECAUSE I GUESS SOMEBODY IN THAT HOUSE IS A SUCKER FOR CLICHES!), and I guess she noticed, because she tried to calm me down by... by... I mean... COULD YOU NOT KISS ME IN FRONT OF MY PARENTS? It’s weird... But I love you, and I swear I’m gonna do my best not to fudge this up! AND THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MONEY!

**Author's Note:**

> WE DID IT! WE GOT THROUGH THIS WHOLE DAMN FIC WITHOUT MENTIONING BAZONGAS!
> 
> I'm gonna be honest, Velvet's "she's not here for the food, she's here for the snacc" line is at least 60% of the reason I wrote this story in the first place.
> 
> I suppose in some respects, it was indeed odd to skip the moment the two of them started dating. Somehow, that rang as the least important part to me. It’s kinda like King Crimson, y’know? You just sorta skip the part where it happens and you get the end result instead. Do you know how much suffering I could have avoided if someone just explained it to me like that? How does it go in the anime? Is it clearer? I haven’t taken the time to watch it for some reason, but I’ll get there eventually.


End file.
